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Pairings

What makes food extreme is in the taste of the beholder. Unusual animal parts, perhaps? A ridiculously complicated recipe? Incendiary spicing?

While we were tasting the beers, some of the panel suggested uncompromisingly seasoned Thai food alongside. I’d agree. And on a recent trip to Washington, I had a wok-seared calamari salad at a popular pan-Asian place, TenPenh, that seemed to be on the money. The waitress warned us that it was spicy, but it was not extreme enough for my palate. I got the recipe from the restaurant, and doubled the amount of hot sauce to two teaspoons. I’d even go more extreme, but I’ll leave that option up to you.

There was a time, maybe 20 years ago, when even squid might have been considered extreme, to say nothing of Thai sriracha sauce. Squid is anything but these days, and sriracha is on its way to being commonplace. Unless, of course, you are extreme with the quantity.